Village homes entwined with grape sector

In Tuqiaozi village, grapevines are not constrained to the edge of the vineyard. They climb courtyard walls and trees, stretch across village lanes and form a leafy corridor above visitors' heads.

The unusual landscape in Zhugqu county, Gannan Tibetan autonomous prefecture, Gansu province, traces its roots to a single grape seedling brought home from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region nearly seven decades ago. Today, grapes grown around villagers' homes and along roads have become a source of income for families and an attraction in their own right.

The grape-cultivation tradition began in 1957, when villager Yuan Ermang returned from working in Xinjiang with a grape seedling and planted it in his courtyard. Neighbors later propagated vines from cuttings, and over the following decades, grapevines gradually spread from one household to another. Tuqiaozi's relatively mild climate provided favorable conditions for the crop to flourish.

By the 1990s, grapevines had become a common sight in courtyards and along village lanes. Rather than taking up large areas of farmland, villagers made use of idle spaces around their homes and roads, often allowing vines to climb existing trees instead of building separate trellises.

The practice not only conserved land and costs but also gradually created the grape-covered landscape that now distinguishes the village.

For villager Ning Longlu, that transformation began at home. His family began growing grapes in 1996, initially with just one variety for their own consumption. Today they cultivate grapes on an area covering 1,300 square meters, including land around their home, earning about 30,000 yuan ($4,463) a year from the crop.

"When we first started, we only grew one variety, mainly for ourselves," Ning said. "Later, the number of varieties and the planting area gradually increased. People saw that growing grapes could bring in an income, so more families started planting them."